An Unprecedented Situation

When the bell rang, Vana had just finished her evening prayers on the deck. She stepped into the corridor, preparing to return to her room, only to see Morris hurrying into the corridor as well.

With just one glance, she guessed something from the grave expression on Morris's face.

"You heard Swift Bell's call too?"

"Yes. It seems you heard it as well," Morris said with a nod. "The bell has already rung for the third time. I was just about to conduct the psionic resonance ritual."

"...But it's still Deep Sea Church's rotation period," Vana said, her eyes widening slightly. "How could you have heard the bell?"

Morris let out a quiet breath. "I don't know. That's why we need to figure out what happened at the assembly... It looks like something unprecedented has occurred this time."

Seeing the faintly grave expression on the old scholar's face, Vana thought of the string of unsettling events that had recently occurred. She silently nodded, and the two passed each other, each returning to their own room.

The gentle sound of waves echoed in her ears as the sensation of being submerged in seawater gradually enveloped her. Vana, having hurried back to her room and performed the ritual, watched the candle burn, swell, and flicker before her eyes. The dancing flame became a hazy glow, and her slightly restless emotions gradually calmed to the sound of the waves.

After a brief spell of dizziness and sensory reset, she opened her eyes again and found that she had arrived at the sacred, ancient "assembly ground" in the form of a soul projection. Towering, solemn stone pillars stood at the far end of the vast square. Chaotic darkness and ever-flowing radiance shrouded the space above them. The ground was covered in weathered, broken stone